Method and apparatus for installing jet engines



March 18, 1969 L. J. RODGERS 3,432,911

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INSTALLING JET ENGINES Filed Jan. 19, 1966Sheet of 5 March 18, 1969 L. J. RODGERS 3,432,911

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INSTALLING JET ENGINES Filed Jan. 19, 1966Sheet Of 5 March 1969 1.. J. RODGERS 3,432,911

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INSTALLING JET ENGINES Filed Jan. 19. 1966Sheet 3 Of 3 United States Patent 3,432,911 METHOD AND APPARATUS FORINSTALLING JET ENGINES Leonard John Rodgers, Derby, England, assignor toRolls-Royce Limited, Derby, England, a British company Filed Jan. 19,1966, Ser. No. 521,682 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Feb.4, 1965,

4,862/ 65 US. Cl. 29464 Int. Cl. B253 3/00; B66d 1/30 13 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to an engine handlingmethod and apparatus.

According to the present invention, a method of installing an engine ina housing comprises securing curved guide means to the housing to extenddownwardly therefrom, engaging at least one guide-engaging element onthe engine with said guide means, hoisting the engine into the housingin a position inclined at an angle to the vertical, the engine beingguided by said guide means, securing the engine within the housing insaid inclined position; and finally removing the guide means from thehousing.

The method preferably includes mounting hoisting means on the housingand attaching the hoisting means to a hoist-engaging member secured tothe engine, said hoisting means and hoist-engaging member being removedafter the engine has been secured within the housing.

The method is particularly applicable where the engine is a gas turbinejet lift engine and the housing has open upper and lower ends, thehoisting means being mounted on the upper end of the housing and thehoist-engaging member being secured to the air intake end of the engineso that the hoisting means hoists the engine through the open lower endof the housing into an installed position in which the intake end of theengine is disposed adjacent the upper, and the exhaust end of the engineadjacent the lower, end of the housing.

The guide means may guide the engine from a position beneath the housingin which the axis of the engine is substantially vertical to aninstalled position within the housing in which the axis of the engine isinclined to the vertical.

Thus where the housing is inclined to the vertical the guide means maycomprise a curved rail extending downwardly from the side of the housingwhich is spaced further from the ground, the rail being secured to theinterior of the housing. The hoisting means are then preferably arrangedto hoist from a point above the open upper end of the housing anddisplaced from the axis of the housing towards the said side of thehousing to which the rail is secured.

"ice

The invention also comprises engine handling apparatus for carrying outthe method set forth above, said apparatus comprising curved guide meansadapted to be detachably secured to an engine housing and to extenddownwardly therefrom, hoisting means mounted on the housing adapted toengage the engine and at least one guide-engaging element on the enginefor engaging said guide means to guide the engine into the housing at anangle inclined to the vertical as it is hoisted by the hoisting means, ahoist-engaging member adapted to be detachably secured to the engine,said hoist-engaging member including a movable connection element, andsaid hoisting means including including a flexible hoisting element forattachment to said connection element, said connection element havinglimited freedom of movement in a substantially horizontal plane so thatduring operation of the apparatus the point of application of thehousing force to the engine changes to accommodate changes inorientation of the engine.

Preferably the or each guide-engaging element is adapted to bedetachably secured to the engine.

The invention will be described, by way of example only, with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 show stages inthe installation of a gas turbine jet lift engine in an aircraft pod,FIGURE 3 incorporating a modification of the apparatus shown in FIGURES1 and 2.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, there is shown a gas turbine jet liftengine 10 which has been transported by means of a trolley 11 to aposition beneath an open lower end 12 of a pod 13 in which the engine isto be installed. The engine 10 was initially disposed on trolley 11 withits axis 14 horizontal (broken lines) and has been swung in a cradle 15about a pivot 16 provided on the trolley 11 to the position illustratedin FIGURE 1 in which the axis 14 is vertical. The engine 10 is formedwith a number of blind sockets 17 around the internal surface of itsintake duct 18 and spigots 19 provided on a sling 20 are received in thesockets 17 to attach the sling 20 to the intake end of the engine 10. Asuitable sling 20 is described in US. Patent No. 3,352,592 issued toRodgers. The sling 20 has an arcuate rail 21 on its upper side on whicha ring 22 is slidably retained. A hand-operated hoist 23 is adapted tobe mounted by means of a tripod 24 on the upper (intake) surface of thepod 13, enabling a hoisting force to be applied to the ring 22 andthence to the engine 10 through a hook 26 provided at one end of a cable27 or other flexible hoisting element which forms part of hoist 23.

In this example the axis 13 of the pod 13 is inclined to the vertical,and it is necessary to guide the engine 10 as it is hoisted into the pod13 so that the axis 14 of the engine 10 coincides with the axis 13' ofthe pod when the engine is finally installed in the latter.

On the side of the engine 10 which will be spaced furthest from theground when it is installed in pod 13 there is secured a detachablesupport 28 carrying a set of rollers 29. The support 28 is secured to aflange 30 of the engine 10 by a toggle-clamp 31 (shown diagrammatically)and to a flange 32 of the engine 10 by a peg 33 received in an aperture34 in flange 32.

A guide rail 35, which may comprise either a single section or a numberof sections bolted together in end-to-end relationship as at 36, issecured to the side of the pod 13 which is spaced furthest from theground. The rail 35 is secured to the pod 13 by links 37 which areattached to lugs 38 provided on the internal surface of the pod 13 byremovable pegs 39 received in apertures in lugs 38. The guide rail 35extends downwardly from the pod 13, and the rollers 29 are adapted toengage the rail 35 and thus stabilise the engine horizontally while itis being hoisted into the pod 13.

When the hoist 23 is operated, the engine 10 is hoisted into the pod 13through the open lower end 12 thereof, passing successively through thestages shown in FIG- URES 2 and 3.

Since, in this example, the tilt of axis 14 changes as the engine israised towards the pod 13, the line of action of the lifting forceapplied to the engine 10 by the hoist 23 varies accordingly, so thatsaid line of action at all times passes through the centre of gravity 40of the engine 10. To enable the cable 27 to take up a position alongthis line while progressively accommodating the changing attitude of theengine 10 as the latter is hoisted, the rail 21 is arcuate in shape, thecentre of the arcuate rail 21 being a point (not indicated) on the axis14 which is at or above the centre of gravity 40, the ring 22 sliding onthe rail 21 to permit the line of action of the hoisting cable 27 tovary appropriately. Preferably, the ring 22 and rail 21 are formed oflow friction material at least on their inter-engaging surfaces or thering 22 may be replaced by suitable rollers (not shown) and the rail 21adapted for these rollers to roll thereon.

When the engine 10 has reached the installed position shown in FIGURE 3,it is secured in the pod 13 by trunnions (not shown) or other suitablemeans. The tripod 24 and hoist 23 are then removed, the hook 26 beingdetached from ring 22. The spigots 19 are released from the sockets 17so that the sling 20 can be detached from the engine 10. The pegs 39 arealso removed, thus freeing the guide rail 35, and the toggle-clamp 31and peg 33 released from the respective engine flanges 30, 32 to freethe rollers 29 and their support 28, leaving the engine 10 supported inthe pod 13 by said trunnions or other suitable means.

To remove the engine 10 from the pod 13, the reverse procedure to theabove is followed, in the sequence of FIGURES 3, 2 and 1. It is to benoted that no specialized tools are necessary in using the equipmentaccording to the invention, nor have the engine 10 or pod 13 anyadditional fixtures which might increase the weight thereof.

In FIGURE 3, a modified arrangement for securing the guide rail 35 tothe lugs 38 of pod 13 is shown diagrammatically. The rail 35 issupported by pivoted links 41 which are connected by removable pegs 39to the lugs 38. A screw jack 42 or like device is attached to one orboth of the links 41 to enable a limited adjustment of the position ofthe engine 10 within pod 13 to be made to compensate for misalignment ofthe trunnions or other means on the pod 13 with respect to the engine 10when the latter is installed in the pod 13.

In a modification (not shown) of the embodiments illustrated, the rail21 of hoist 23 may be replaced by two intersecting rails and the ring 22by sliding or rolling elements which co-operate with one of the rails.The sliding or rolling elements would be arranged in use to cooperatewith whichever of the rails is selected to coincide as nearly aspossible with the line of greatest slope of the axis 14 of the engine 10when the latter is installed in the pod 13.

I claim:

1. A method of installing an engine in a housing, said method comprisingthe steps of: securing curved guide means to the housing to extenddownwardly therefrom; engaging at least one guide-engaging element onthe engine with said curved guide means; hoisting the engine into thehousing in a position inclined at an angle to the vertical, the enginebeing guided by said guide means; securing the engine within the housingin said inclined position; and removing the guide means from thehousing.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which the said at least oneguide-engaging element is detachably secured to the engine and removedtherefrom after the engine has been installed in the housing.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 including mounting hoisting means onthe housing and attaching the hoisting means to a hoist-engaging membersecured to the engine, said hoisting means and hoist-engaging memberbeing removed after the engine has been secured within the housing.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 in which the engine is a gas turbinejet lift engine having air intake and exhaust ends and the housing hasopen upper and lower ends, the hoisting means being mounted on the upperend of the housing and the hoist-engaging member being secured to theair intake end of the engine so that the hoisting means hoists theengine through the open lower end of the housing into an installedposition in which the intake end of the engine is disposed adjacent theupper, and the exhaust end of the engine adjacent the lower, end of thehousing.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 in which the guide means guides theengine from a position beneath the housing in which the axis of theengine is substantially vertical to an installed position within thehousing in which the engine is in said inclined position with its axisinclined to the vertical.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5 in which the guide means comprise arail extending downwardly from the side of the housing which is spacedfurther from the ground, the rail being secured to the interior of thehousing.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6 in which the hoisting means arearranged to hoist from a point above the open upper end of the housingand displaced from the axis of the housing towards the said side of thehousing to which the rail is secured.

8. Engine handling apparatus for installing an engine in a housing, saidapparatus comprising curved guide means adapted to be detachably securedto the engine housing and to extend downwardly therefrom, hoisting meansmounted on the housing adapted to engage the engine, at least oneguide-engaging element on the engine for engaging said guide means toguide the engine into the housing, at an angle inclined to the verticalas it is hoisted by the hoisting means, a hoist-engaging member adaptedto be detachably secured to the engine, said hoist-engaging memberincluding a movable connection element, and said hoisting meansincluding aflexible hoisting element for attachment to said connectionelement, said connection element having limited freedom of movement in asubstantially horizontal plane so that during operation of the apparatusthe point of application of the hoisting force to the engine changes toaccommodate changes in orientation of the engine.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said at least oneguide-engaging element comprises a rolling element which is adapted toengage with and ride on the guide means.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the said guide meanscomprise a rail formed in at least two sections joined detachablytogether in end-to-end relation.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said movable connectionelement comprises a ring engageable by said flexible element, and saidhoist-engaging member is provided with an arcuate rail on which the ringis movable, the centre of said arcuate rail lying on the axis of theengine at or above the centre of gravity thereof.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 in which the hoist-engaging memberis provided with a plurality of spigots which may be engaged incorresponding sockets provided in the intake wall of the engine.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 in which removable links areprovided for securing the guide means to the interior of the housing,and means for adjusting at least one of said links is also provided,whereby the posi- 5 6 tion of the engine may be adjusted when the latteris in 2,901,218 8/1959 Scott 254-150 its installed position. 3,061,11910/1962 Schlepitzka 21416.1 3,211,299 10/1965 Metzrath 214-1 ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 CHARLIE T. MOON, Primary Examiner. 602,5024/1898 Foster 21416 691,714 1/1902 Church 214-16 X US 2,768,432 10/ 1956Hines 29-464 X

